With a surname like that, Buddy Featherstonhaugh might have been
an English aristocrat whose chums called him "Fanshaw".
Instead, he was a skilful saxophonist who played for the likes of
Ambrose, Spike Hughes and Benny Carter, as well as touring Britain
with Louis Aremstrong's backing band in 1932. He was also a motor-racing
driver - a sport which occupied much of his time in the late 1940s.
He had mainly been a tenor-sax player but, when he returned to jazz
in the 1950s, he switched to the baritone sax and formed his own quintet,
which is what we hear on the first eight tracks of this collection.

Like the famous quartet which Gerry Mulligan formed in 1952, Buddy's
quintet dispensed with the piano. Buddy's playing here shows that
he could match Mulligan in dexterity on the cumbersome baritone sax.
He was also a talented composer and arranger. Four of the eight pieces
by his quintet are his own compositions, and his arrangements make
the most of the small band, judiciously employing harmony, counterpoint
and unison passages. One of the fascinating features of this album
is the number of young musicians who would go on to become better
known. When these quintet recordings were made, Kenny Wheeler and
Jackie Dougan were both 26, and Bobby Wellins was only 20, although
he had already acquired that rather shrouded tone on the tenor sax.

Like Buddy Featherstonhaugh, Harry Klein was a baritone saxist who
could challenge the best of the Americans. The seven tracks by his
quartet and quintet illustrate his more trebly tone than Buddy's but
also his dexterity and invention. The groups again contain some young
musicians who later became better known. Stan Tracey, Vic Ash and
Eddie Taylor were all in their twenties. I'm Coming Virginia
is a particularly attractive performance, with agile baritone from
Harry Klein and swinging piano by Max Harris. The quintet tracks add
the sound of Vic Ash's clarinet, with Leslie Weeks giving Poinciana
and Pentagon a Latin-American rhythm with his bongoes - especially
in the latter tune, which sounds like Constantinople turned
upside down.

Vic Ash's clarinet takes centre stage on the four tracks by his quartet,
which includes such future stars as Eddie Thompson and Allan Ganley.
Vic Ash's clear tone comes through well in such numbers as Cocktails
for Two, where his resemblance to Buddy DeFranco is noticeable.
Vic was only 24 when these sides were recorded but in recent years
he could still be heard playing as well as ever with the BBC Big Band.
Benny Goodman (no, not the American clarinettist!) takes some neat
drum breaks in I Hear Music.

All the tracks from one to 19 come from five different EPs, and they
are supplemented by three items from a 1959 LP called All the Winners.
Just for the Boys is by a sextet led by Vic Ash, with the rather
shrill flute of its composer Johnny Scott. Johnny Dankworth wrote
Poll Winners for Kenny Baker's All Stars, with punchy trumpet
by the leader and contrasting saxophone styles from Tony Coe and Bruce
Turner. Ken Moule's Hark Dog spotlights the Melody Maker All
Stars, who included the excellent Dave Goldberg on guitar, yet another
great British baritone saxist - Ronnie Ross, the adept Bill le Sage
on vibes, and tenorist Tubby Hayes already cramming in lots of notes.

Once again, the Vocalion label has dug out some buried treasure from
the archives and made it available for our enjoyment. The recording
quality is remarkably good, and the playing time (more than 76 minutes)
is exceedingly magnanimous.